Wildmoor Spa Tennis League - 2017-12 (Men's Week 7)

Action Photo from Division Four Match showing Bidford B players

Malcolm Dewsbury in blue and Colin Green in black.

The Wildmoor Spa Tennis League – Week 7

(Covering South Warwickshire & parts or Worcestershire & Gloucs.)

The halfway point in the season of the Men's Wildmoor Spa Summer Tennis League was reached with current champions Stratford-on-Avon (24) topping the Premier Division table still undefeated.  They continued this record with a 3-1 win over fourth placed Alcester B (13).  Chipping Campden on 19 points take over second spot from Alcester A (18) after Campden beat sixth placed Ardencote Manor (11) 3-1, while Alcester A went down at Henley-in-Arden 3-1.  This lifted Henley to fifth place with 12 points.  Finally, the bottom two teams Pershore and Redditch met resulting in a 4-0 win for Pershore. 

New Stratford pairing Max Hurtubise & William Morley-Cotterell squeezed out a victory over Alcester B’s Marcus Powell & Gareth Price 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 after a tie-break.  They then beat Pete Watson & Emma Hubbard (Alcester B) 7-6, 6-4.  Simon West & Chris Marrow (Stratford) beat Watson & Hubbard 6-0, 6-4, but lost to Powell & Price 4-6, 5-7.

Chipping Campden’s heroes were Geoff Vaughan & Tobias Kemp who took both rubbers beating Ben Summers & Pete Thomas (Ardencote) 7-5, 6-1, and then Richard Lucas & Steve Hussey (Ardencote) 6-2, 6-2.  Campden’s second pair George Richards & Tom Partridge beat Lucas and Hussey 6-1, 6-2, but went down to Summers & Thomas 6-7, 5-7.

Henley had Oli Didlick & Tom Griffiths to thank for their victory as they just eased past Alex Woodbridge & Barney Williams (Alcester A) 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 on a tie-break, before easily beating James Clemons & Harvey Williams (Alcester A) 6-0, 6-0.  The other Henley pair Brett Mackay & Matt Williams beat Clemons & Williams 6-1, 6-0, but lost after a close tussle to Woodbridge & Williams 7-5, 5-7, 0-1.

The last Premier fixture saw a face-off between the bottom two teams Redditch and Pershore who both began the match well adrift on only three points each. Pershore enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 victory as their pairs Mike Langston & Matt Sime beat Joe Morris & James McDonald  (Redditch) 6-2, 6-4 and then beat Ben Portman & Lubo Smoliar (Redditch) 6-0, 6-2.  Pershore’s Steve Bauer & Bradley Smith beat Portman & Smoliar 6-1, 6-1 and defeated Morris & McDonald 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 after a tie-break.

Clear Division One leaders with 23 points are now Littleton A after they defeated bottom team Inkberrow A 4-0. Evesham A (19) lie second after they beat Stratford B 3-1.  Previously third placed Studley A slip to fourth following a resounding 4-0 defeat to Alcester C who now join them in that fourth place on 13 points apiece. Moreton-in-Marsh A travelled to Ardencote B and their 3-1 win moved them up to third position in the table on 15 points.

On to Division Two where Claverdon A (21) retain top spot. They defeated Henley B 3-1 to push them down to third place with 15 points. Snitterfield A (18) stay second but drop points after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Claverdon B.  Shipston A lie fourth with 14 points despite being held to a 2-2 draw by the penultimate side Inkberrow B. Fifth placed Chipping Campden B were also held to a 2-2 draw by bottom placed FISSC.  

Division Three joint leaders are Warwick on 21 after they enjoyed a great 4-0 win away to Studley B (17).  They share the lead with Pershore B who likewise performed well at Redditch C to take maximum points.  Bidford A with 18 points moved up the table to third place following their 3-1 defeat of mid-table Snitterfield B.  A lower table clash between Inkberrow C at home to Redditch B saw the visitors victorious 4-0.

Leaders of Division Four Shipston B (21) have a four-point gap over second placed Chipping Campden C as both recorded 4-0 victories.  Shipston’s was over bottom placed Claverdon C while Campden’s was at the expense of next to bottom Aston Cantlow.  Evesham B who lay second equal lost ground when they were defeated at home 3-1 by Tysoe.  The latter moved away from the bottom two with this result.  Finally in this division, mid-table teams Bidford B and Wildmoor A drew 2-2.

There were only two fixtures in Division Five.  The big match was between the top two teams Stratford C and Warwickshire County Council.  The result was an excellent 4-0 victory for Stratford which saw them open up a massive 10 point gap at the halfway stage of the season. It also meant that Warwickshire County Council dropped back to joint second on 13 points.

The second match saw Wildmoor B climb up to joint second along with their opponents Moreton-in-Marsh B after they enjoyed a 3-1 win over the visitors Moreton.